Wire and Cable

Snubbing grips are typically supplied as a matched pair of grip bodies. Each body uses a spool to wrap the specimen around and a snubber (cam or clamp) to secure the free end of the specimen.

Cable snubbing grips have a solid steel construction, and wire snubbing grips incorporate a hardened steel drum on an aluminum bracket. The grip body is designed so that the wire or cable specimen is pulled directly in line with the load cell. The snubbing mechanism is not designed to carry the full load applied to the specimen, rather the spool carries the load because the specimen is wrapped around it.

Principle Of Operation

SG-1 wire snubbing grips are designed to test wire ranging from 0.125 to 1.5 mm (0.005 to 0.06 in) in diameter. They consist of a hardened steel drum that is secured to an aluminum bracket. The grip is equipped with a screw operated clamp, which acts as the snubber. This clamp is screwed down hand tight to the specimen end, which requires no modification. The specimen is then wrapped around the spool one and a half to two and a half times, depending on the strength of the wire.

SG-2 cable snubbing grips hold wire or cable specimens from 0.8 to 6.35 mm (0.0312 to 0.25 in) in diameter, and SG-3 cable snubbing grips hold wire or cable specimens from 0.8 to 12.7 mm (0.0312 to 0.5 in). Sockets or special end preparations of the specimen are not needed for these grips. The end of the specimen is placed between a cam lock and the spool and is secured by hand tightening the cam lock.

The design of wire and cable snubbing grips causes the majority of the tension force to be carried by the spool rather than the clamp or cam lock, reducing specimen slippage. It also ensures that tension reaches its peak in the free section of the specimen, between the grips. This maximizes the probability that the failure will occur in the free length of wire or cable and produce valid test results.